NATCHITOCHES -- Two Northwestern State athletes ranked in the top 10 nationally among all NCAA Division I competitors in their events, Cody Fillinich and Mike Green, are the headline competitors Saturday at the annual NSU Invitational track and field meet.
Athletes from LSU and Texas A&M will join full teams from Southland Conference rivals Stephen F. Austin, Southeastern Louisiana, Lamar, Central Arkansas and McNeese, along with state rival Louisiana-Lafayette, in the competition. Field events begin at 10 Saturday morning and running starts at 1 at the Walter Ledet Track Complex. Fillinich, a three-time All-American in the javelin, will compete at 2 o'clock. The senior from Cut Off ranks sixth nationally this year with his 235-7 best mark and was fourth in the 2007 NCAA Championships before redshirting last year. Green ran a blistering 46.21 time in the 400 meters last weekend at the LSU Alumni Gold meet, the 10th-best time in the 400 this spring. The junior from Alexandria will run in his specialty about 1:45 Saturday, and will anchor the Demons' nationally-ranked 4x400 meter relay team (25th, 3:08.21 best time) that will wrap up the meet about 4:30. Fillinich is among six seniors on the NSU men's and women's teams who will be recognized late in the afternoon at their final home meet. Weight men Corey Jones and Daniel Yarbrough and middle distance standout Chris Pearson have all been NCAA Mideast Regional Championships qualifiers, along with Lady Demon hurdler Shanae Steward. The other Lady Demon senior is 4x100 relay standout Samantha Flowers. "This is always our major home meet, but this year with the caliber of our athletes, the weather, our extremely fast track and the level of the competition, it's going to be a very exciting Saturday," said Leon Johnson, head men's coach since 1982. "I hope people turn out to enjoy the competition and to show appreciation for our seniors, especially, who have really accomplished some tremendous things during their careers." Field event competition begins with Yarbrough and Jones in the men's discus at 10 Saturday morning, followed by the women's competition. Also at 10, the women's shot put starts, featuring NSU's Leslie Jordan with the conference's fourth-ranked throw (45-1), followed by the men's competition where Jones ranks third in the SLC. At 11, the men's long jump and high jump and the women's pole vault begin. The men's triple jump, followed by the women, has a 1 o'clock start. At 2, Fillinich will lead the field in the men's javelin while Lady Demon standout DeJon Griffin is among the entries in the women's hammer competition. She ranks second in the SLC with her school record 176-4 best. Action on the track begins at 1 with women running first in each event. The races will go on a rolling time schedule, meaning that as soon as one race is completed, preparations will begin for the following race. Racing begins with the 3000 meter steeplechase, followed by the 4x100 meter relay, the 1500 meter run, the 100 meter hurdles (women only), the 110 meter hurdles (men only), the 400 meter dash, the 100 meter dash, the 800 meter run, the 400 meter hurdles, the 200 meter dash, the 5000 meter run and the 4x400 meter relay. Among the seniors, Steward is a very unique story. She is working full time as a nurse in Shreveport Monday through Wednesday while attending classes, and trains in Natchitoches later in the week and competes on the weekends.